Programs Overview

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PROGRAMS OVERVIEW
Find the Support That Fits Your Journey

The NB Adoption Foundation Support Network offers peer-led programs and meetings that support individuals, families, caregivers, and youth impacted by adoption, foster care, and other pathways to stable, long-term family care. These programs provide connection, community, and shared learning at every stage — from preparing for permanency to parenting support and youth creative spaces.

Below is an overview of our programs. Each program has a dedicated page with a description and registration links. To view upcoming dates, please visit the Monthly Schedule, where all current and upcoming meetings are listed in one place.

We offer programs in both English and French. Program descriptions will indicate the language of each meeting.

You don’t need to read everything here — explore the programs that feel most relevant to where you are right now.

PREPARING FOR PERMANENCY AND CAREGIVING

Support for adoption, kinship, and foster care pathways

Whether you are considering adoption, exploring kinship care, becoming a foster family, or waiting for a match, this stage can bring a unique blend of hope and uncertainty. You don’t have to navigate this journey alone. These programs offer supportive spaces for connection, learning, and reflection alongside others on similar paths.

⏳While You’re Waiting | Vivre l’attente ⏳

Preparing for adoption, foster care, and kinship permanency

Support for those considering or waiting to welcome a child into their family

If you are considering or waiting to welcome a child through adoption, foster care, or kinship care, you don’t have to navigate the process alone.

While You’re Waiting | Vivre l’attente offers a supportive space to ask questions, better understand the permanency process, and connect with others who are also waiting. These sessions are designed to walk alongside you — helping you make sense of timelines, paperwork, and next steps, while also creating space to talk about the emotions that often come with waiting.

What to expect:
Sessions include panel discussions and presentations from adoptive parents, caregivers, youth with lived experience, and professionals working in the field. There is also time for informal conversation and questions, allowing you to learn from others’ experiences and reflect on your own journey.

You will have opportunities to build your understanding of trauma, attachment, and the realities of welcoming children with a history in care, while also being supported as you navigate uncertainty and the emotional ups and downs of this stage.

This program is offered in both English and French.

🔗 Learn more – While You’re Waiting (English)

🔗 En savoir plus – Vivre l’attente (Français)

🧒Building Families | Une famille pour tous 🧒

Profile sharing sessions

Learning about children who are waiting for permanent families

Building Families sessions are held in English and feature profiles of children whose primary language of communication is English.

Une famille pour tous sessions are held in French and feature profiles of children whose primary language of communication is French.

In these sessions, adoption social workers share non-identifying profiles of children who need stability, commitment, and care. The focus is on helping you better understand who these children are — their strengths, their needs, and the kinds of support that can help them thrive within a family.

These gatherings are an opportunity to listen, learn, and reflect. Building Families invites approved adoptive families to consider how they might respond to the needs of children who are waiting for a family now, and what welcoming a child with lived experience in care can truly involve.

Who it’s for:
These sessions are intended for individuals and families who have completed the adoption application process, are approved to adopt, and are currently waiting to be matched. If you are unsure whether this session is right for you, your adoption social worker can help you decide.

🔗 Learn more about Building Families (English)

🔗 En savoir plus sur Une famille pour tous (Français)

PARENTING SUPPORT

For adoptive, foster, and kinship caregivers

Parenting children with lived experience in care can be deeply meaningful — and deeply challenging. Our parenting support programs offer spaces where adoptive, foster, and kinship caregivers can connect with others who truly understand this journey.

These programs recognize that supporting children also means supporting the adults who care for them. Participants are invited to share experiences, questions, and emotions, and to feel heard and supported — not just as parents and caregivers, but as people navigating a complex and emotional journey.

🌜Late Night Talks 🌛

Peer-to-peer caregiver support

Late Night Talks is a welcoming, confidential space to connect with other caregivers and adults impacted by adoption, kinship care, and foster care. These sessions bring together pre- and post-adoptive families, kinship caregivers, foster parents, adoptees, and individuals with lived experience in care.

Together, participants share concerns, ask questions, and support one another through the challenges and joys of the journey. These conversations help caregivers feel less alone, build understanding, and learn from the experiences of others.

🔗 Learn more about "Late Night Talks" (English)

🥪Lunch Time Talks 🥪

Peer-to-peer caregiver support

Lunch Time Talks (LTT) is a welcoming, confidential space to connect with other caregivers and adults impacted by adoption, kinship care, and foster care. These sessions bring together pre- and post-adoptive families, kinship caregivers, foster parents, adoptees, and individuals with lived experience in care.

🔗 Learn more about "Lunch Time Talks" (English)

🏄Riding the Wave: Parenting Tweens & Teens | La traversée de l'adolescence 🌊

Peer-to-peer caregiver support

A space for caregivers parenting tweens and teens to come together and ride the emotional highs and lows of this stage. Sessions focus on connection, shared experience, and reassurance — reminding parents that their feelings and experiences matter too.

Riding the Wave offers a supportive space for parents and caregivers of tweens and teens as they navigate the transition into adolescence and the teenage years.

These sessions focus on connection and shared experience, recognizing that parenting teens comes with highs, lows, and moments of uncertainty. Participants are invited to talk openly about challenges, emotions, and everyday realities, while offering and receiving support from others who are riding similar waves.

🔗 Learn more about "Riding the Wave" (English)

🔗 En savoir plus sur "La traversée de l'adolescence" (Français)

🫂Plus forts ensemble 🫂

French-language peer support

A French-language support group for caregivers seeking connection and understanding

Plus forts ensemble is a French-language peer support group for adoptive, pre-adoptive, foster, and kinship caregivers. The group offers a welcoming, confidential space to connect with others who share similar experiences and challenges.

Sessions focus both on supporting children and on supporting the adults who care for them. Participants are invited to share openly, ask questions, and feel heard — recognizing that caregiving within adoption and care impacts the whole family.

Sessions are held in French.

🔗 Learn more about "Plus forts ensemble" (Français)

YOUTH PROGRAMS

Creative and therapeutic spaces for adopted, foster, and kinship youth

Our youth programs offer supportive, creative spaces where adopted youth and youth in foster and kinship care can express themselves, build connection, and be supported by trained professionals. These programs centre young people’s experiences and strengths, while providing safe opportunities for creativity, reflection, and peer connection.

All sessions are facilitated by licensed art and music therapists and are offered at no cost to families.

🎨Healing Hearts Through Art | Cœurs créatifs ♥️

Creative therapy retreat for teens – In person

Healing Hearts Through Art / Cœurs créatifs is a one-day, in-person creative therapy retreat for teens who have been adopted or are in foster or kinship care.

Through guided art-making and group activities, participants are invited to express themselves creatively, explore emotions, and connect with peers who share similar lived experiences. The retreat is designed to provide a safe, supportive environment where youth can participate at their own pace and feel accepted for who they are.

Open to: Teens aged 12–18 who have been adopted or are in foster or kinship care

🔗 Learn more about Healing Hearts Through Art (English)

🔗 En savoir plus sur Cœurs créatifs (Français)

Next steps

To find upcoming dates or register for a session, visit the Monthly Schedule or explore individual program pages using the “Learn more” links above.

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